The Malik Report

On a day when none other than the Wall Street Journal’s Mike Sieleski quotes the CBC’s Gord Stellick as stating that the Red Wings are going to be the prime suitors for Zach Parise, should he choose to leave New Jersey…

One intriguing possibility is the Detroit Red Wings. “He is their guy,” former Toronto Maple Leafs GM Gord Stellick said. “[The Red Wings are] never going to go after an unrestricted free agent as hard as they’re going to go after Zach Parise.”

It’s no wonder: Parise said in an interview earlier this season that it was important to him to play for a team with a realistic chance of winning a championship. The Red Wings have won four Stanley Cups over the previous 15 years and have not finished with a losing record since the 1990-91 season, and they built their success around players such as Steve Yzerman and Pavel Datsyuk—elite two-way forwards with impeccable leadership credentials. They could make Parise into their latest incarnation of that tradition.

Lidstrom and Holmstrom both are considering retirement and aren’t anywhere near a final decision. Holland said he’d like a decision from Stuart before the June 22-23 draft. Stuart has expressed his desire to play on the West Coast, closer to his family in northern California. Holland met with Hudler during exit interviews and talked briefly with Hudler’s agent, but still is waiting to hear back about further talks.

Until the organizational meetings, don’t expect to much activity.

“I’d like to get to June 2,” Holland said. “Get all of our scouts, get Jim Nill (assistant general manager), Jimmy Devellano (executive vice president), (coach) Mike Babcock, Ryan Martin (assistant general manager), get all of them into the room and talk about how we make our team get better.”

And no, via RedWingsFeed, I’m not even gonna comment on Puck Daddy’s Harrison Mooney’s report of Chris Chelios-related karaoke antics with his buddy Eddie Vedder in Chicago. Chelios was already spotted attending Kid Rock’s officially-sanctioned cruise in the Caribbean, so he’s allowed to do what he wants when he’s not on the clock…

Comments

[The Red Wings are] never going to go after an unrestricted free agent as hard as they’re going to go after Zach Parise.

That may be an overstatement, but I hope they go after him hard because I’m officially a big fan of this guy. Having had a chance to see him play more often in the past four weeks than I have in the past four years combined, I now get why he’s such a valuable guy.

Parise is sort of Pavel, Hank and Homer all rolled into one. He’s got Pavel’s smarts and two-way ability. He’s got Hank’s dogged determination. And he’s every bit as fearless in front of the net as Homer is. Get ‘er done, Kenny.

I can’t help but think that every win the Devils still get makes Parise more and more a pipedream. If Parise wants a winner and the Devils win the Cup this year… why would he leave?

Truthfully? I think the Wings better prepare for life without any notable FA signings whatsoever. Parise seems to be unlikely, and I’d be willing to bet Suter stays in NAS too. Bring some more youngsters in and give it a go I guess…

I agree—re Parise & Suter—unless there is some personality conflict that we dont know about—& if their current teams make a decent offer to them, why should they leave? There could be franchise issues with NJ & Nash has had some money problems in the past—but if everything looks ok, its always easier to stay

Posted by
howie young
on 05/22/12 at 09:41 AM ET

why should they leave?

Here’s one: The devils had to borrow money this year to make good on their payroll obligations.

It is May 22nd. Please, please, please stop writing off the 2012-2013 to 2019-2020 seasons and all this God-damned fatalism. It is utterly bizarre and downright ludicrous.

Posted by George Malik from South Lyon, MI on 05/22/12 at 08:37 AM ET

Now you’re just being too reasonable, George. There will always be panic in Detroit.

Posted by
Seaner
from San Jose on 05/22/12 at 12:46 PM ET

Here’s one: The devils had to borrow money this year to make good on their payroll obligations.

Here’s another: Brodeur’s gone in a season or two, if not now.

The Devils don’t have any long-term stability. If he wins a Cup there this season, I’d think he’d be totally ok w/ moving on to another contender and giving himself a real shot at winning another. Especially when you consider how these playoffs have gone, with nearly every major contender knocked out in Rounds 1 and 2, this is the year anyone can win it. If the Rangers don’t win it, after the season they’ve had, and with the path they’ve been given to the Cup, they’ll be kicking themselves forever.

why should they leave?
Been to Newark lately? Makes Detroit look like a resort destination.
Posted by dougie on 05/22/12 at 12:50 PM ET

Posted by
Cwix
from Grand Rapids, now Roanoke, VA on 05/22/12 at 03:46 PM ET

I agree—re Parise & Suter—unless there is some personality conflict that we dont know about—& if their current teams make a decent offer to them, why should they leave?

To play devil’s advocate, if they were intent on staying then when wouldn’t they have already re-signed? Parise signed a one-year deal last year as an RFA presumably to get to UFA status this year. If the Devils continue to win, all bets are off, but if the Rangers beat them then they’re just another one of 28 teams that didn’t make the finals.

And again, playing devil’s advocate, the Predators have Suter as an upcoming UFA and Weber as an upcoming RFA, so why haven’t they signed Suter? If Weber were to sign an offer sheet they could match it or get a huge return in the form of picks, but if Suter leaves they get nothing. One would think that they would’ve made a hard drive at Suter during the season and made sure to lock him up before he gets anywhere near UFA.

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